How Often Does Your FICO Score Update and Why It Matters
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Written by
Joseph Hostetler
Your credit score is your financial report card of sorts. It keeps tabs on your credit habits and assigns you a number based on how responsible you’ve been. Lenders then look at this number (along with other aspects of your credit report) to decide how trustworthy of a borrower you are.
In other words, your credit profile is one of the most important aspects of your financial life. It’s vital to understand how your credit score updates so that you know how to improve it. This can unlock low interest rates for future loans, help you to be approved for valuable rewards credit cards, impact your apartment rental application, and much more.
What Determines a Credit Score?
Your FICO credit score is comprised of five elements:
- Payment history. This simply considers the percentage of your payments that are on time. It’s the weightiest factor, making up 35% of your credit score.
- Credit utilization. Also called “amounts owed,” this measures the percentage of your available credit you’re currently using. This accounts for 30% of your overall score.
- Length of credit history. If the average age of your open accounts is low, that could be a red flag for some lenders. Banks like borrowers who don’t have a lot of account turnover (for example, opening and closing credit cards often). This accounts for 15% of your overall score.
- New credit inquiries. When you take out a loan, your credit score will undergo a “hard credit inquiry,” signaling to anyone who checks your credit that you’ve requested to borrow money. This accounts for 10% of your overall score.
- Credit mix. Your credit score will benefit when you’ve got more than one type of loan (think mortgage, auto loan, credit card, etc.). This accounts for 10% of your overall score.
VantageScore vs. FICO
But another popular scoring model is called VantageScore. It’s similar to FICO, and it retrieves its information from the same credit bureaus. The difference is that VantageScore uses slightly different factors:
- Payment history
- Credit utilization
- Depth of credit (the types of credit accounts you’ve got, as well as your average account length)
- Recent credit (new credit inquiries)
- Balances (amount of outstanding balances)
- Available credit (the amount of credit you can currently use)
How Often Does a Credit Score Update?
For the most part, you can update your credit score as often as you like. Whenever you request your score, you’ll typically get a fresh one — even if you do it every day (though there’s a caveat we’ll get to in a minute).
However, that doesn’t mean your number will change. A credit score simply reflects the information on your credit report — and that information generally receives as little as one update per month per active loan. This is because creditors may report to the credit bureaus just once per month.
Major credit bureaus include TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. These companies compile the information the banks feed them and create your a credit report. The specific bureau(s) that your account reports to varies by bank. This means that each bureau may have a slightly different credit score for you, as banks don’t always report to all three.
So when do credit scores update really? Whenever the bank gets around to sending your info to the credit bureaus.
Bank Information vs. Credit Bureau Information
As an example: if you’ve maxed out your credit card, your credit score may be adversely affected. If you were to pay off that card tomorrow, it could take a month for your credit score to update. It won’t know you’ve paid off that card until the bank reports your activity to a credit bureau.
On the other hand, if you submit an application for a credit card, a hard credit inquiry will appear on your credit score immediately. That’s because the lender is asking for your information from the credit bureau — so it doesn’t have to wait for the bank to notify it of that activity.
It’s also worth mentioning that there’s more than one scoring model when it comes to credit scores. The vast majority of lenders use the FICO scoring model mentioned above to determine your creditworthiness.
How Often Does FICO Score Update?
You can typically check for an updated FICO score once per month. FICO offers multiple paid plans to help you monitor your credit, giving you updates between one and three months.
Otherwise, whenever you check your own score, odds are you’re looking at your VantageScore which tends to update more frequently. For example, sites like Credit Karma advertise a credit score updated daily — but this is your VantageScore, not your FICO score. All to say, the score you’re looking at is probably not the score your potential lender sees (though it’s still a good indication of your overall credit health).
It’s worth noting that when you check your score, your credit won’t be negatively affected. Checking your own score results in a “soft” credit inquiry — as opposed to a hard inquiry mentioned earlier, which happens when you’re trying to borrow money from a lender.
How to Monitor Credit Score Changes Effectively
To keep tabs on your credit score, your best bet is to use a credit monitoring service.
For example, apps and websites like Credit Karma and Credit Sesame can send alerts when a score change is detected. Even many credit cards, such as the Citi Strata Premier® Card and the Discover it® Cash Back card come with free credit score monitoring.
By keeping you up-to-date on your credit score, these services help you to sniff out fraud and even mistakes on your credit report. An unexpected drop in your credit will make your ears perk up and search for the issue.
Alternatively, you can frequently check your credit report manually by going straight to the credit bureaus’ websites.
What Can Cause Sudden Changes in Your Credit Score?
When the five factors that make up your FICO score are severely impacted (for better or worse), you’ll see a big change in your credit score. This includes:
- Paying off a large debt. If you’ve got a big balance on your credit card, your credit utilization is likely too high. When you pay it off, your credit score may skyrocket as soon as the bank reports your activity.
- Missing a payment. Making a late payment on your account is the worst thing you can do. Fortunately, credit card companies usually won’t ding you unless you’re at least 30 days late. When that time comes, your score will begin to freefall.
- New credit inquiries. Again, applying for a loan will result in a hard credit pull. This will immediately drop your credit score (though typically only by a few points).
- New accounts opened. When you’ve got a new credit card, your credit utilization will decrease. Depending on the size of your credit line, this could do wonders for your credit score.
- Errors on your credit report. For many reasons, the credit bureaus may report incorrect information. It could be a new or delinquent account, inaccurate payment history — even a result of fraud.
Tips to Improve Your Credit Score and Maintain Updates
Improving your credit score is straightforward — though actually taking these steps can be difficult. Here are the most effective ways to maintaining a healthy credit score:
1. Pay Your Bills on Time
You don’t have to pay your bill in full each month to keep your score healthy (though you should strive to do so). You just need to make the minimum payment. For this reason, you should set all your credit cards on autopay for the minimum — just in case you forget to pay.
2. Reduce Your Amounts Owed
Keeping your credit utilization low is vital to healthy credit. You could be doing everything else right, but if your balances are out of control, you could find yourself with a poor credit score.
Experts recommend keeping your amounts owed below 30% of your total available credit.
3. Review (and Dispute) Errors on Your Credit Report
Credit bureaus aren’t guaranteed to locate errors on your credit report. It’s on you to find them — and then to file a dispute to clear it up.
4. Avoid Unnecessary Hard Inquiries
Be conservative with the applications you submit. Lots of credit inquiries can make you look desperate for money, which can turn off lenders.
5. Build Long-Term Credit History Through Responsible Use
Banks want to know that you’re going to be a good, faithful customer. If you’re opening and closing credit cards all the time, your average account age will be short. An issuer may be less willing to give you a chance, as it anticipates that you won’t be around for long.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often does your credit score update with each bureau?
Your credit score updates at least once per month with each credit bureau. That’s because the credit bureaus rely on your lenders to share your activity with them — which they sometimes do as little as once per month.
Can I speed up the update process for my credit score?
It’s possible to speed the update process with a “rapid rescore.” In short, this lets you prompt an update faster than usual, even within a few days. Not all lenders participate in rapid rescore.
Why is my credit score different across bureaus?
Your credit score is different across bureaus because they don’t all receive the same information from your lenders. For example, some credit cards report to all three major bureaus, while others report to only one.
How do I know when my credit score has changed?
To know when your credit score has changed, you’ve got two options: Either manually check your score on the regular or enroll in a credit monitoring service. Many credit cards offer a free credit score and will notify you when there’s been a change.
Is it bad to check my credit score too often?
You won’t incur a hard credit inquiry when you check your own credit score, so it won’t affect your credit score at all.
